Life and stuff

Sunset in Santa Barbara

Sunset in Black and White

This was the view from the parking lot of the apartment building in Santa Barbara, CA where Sam and I lived during our college years.

I was walking to the darkroom (the apartment complex built a couple of darkrooms for the Brooks Institute students) and used up the last frame of Ilford Delta 400 film in my Rolleiflex 3.5e taking this photograph.

I don’t mind having power lines in my landscapes. I used to shun them, and any part of the hand of man, but I decided one afternoon while going through some negatives to accept them into my work. I reasoned that if they’re there, and I can’t change them then why fight them? I didn’t like being burdened by trying to negotiate my camera around them. Besides, they add strong visual lines that can enhance the photo.

I’ve learned to accept a lot of things. Life demands it. I try to place stress on the things that I can change and ignore the unchangeable.

I used to think about every part of my photography. It was a luxury whose value wasn’t realized until I had to work my tail off to earn a few bucks. It’s an old memory now, faded and thin.